International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET)

Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2015, pp. 51-57, Article ID: 30120150607007

Available online at
http://www.iaeme.com/currentissue.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=6&IType=7
ISSN Print: 0976 – 6340 and ISSN Online: 0976 - 6359
© IAEME Publication
____________________________________________________________________

OPTIMIZATION OF CONNECTING ROD

WITH HELP OF FEA
Sharma Manoj

Shashikant

ABSTRACT
Connecting rod is the important part of an IC Engine it transmits motion
of piston to crank shaft and converts translating motion of piston into rotary
motion and vice versa.
From application point of view it is necessary that connecting rod must be
light in weight and having good strength under fatigue or reverse loading. For
this purpose generally material of connecting rod is carbon steel of aluminum
alloy.
In this work we take connecting rod of a Mahindra Jeep CJ-340 and
change its material from Al360 to PEEK. The modeling of the connecting rod
is done on Pro-E wildfire 4.0 and analysis work is done on ANSYS 11.0.
The parameters like Von misses stress, Von messes strain and
displacement was obtained from ANSYS software which shows reduction in
weight and improvement in strength.
Keywords: Connecting Rod, Optimization, Pro-E, ANSYS
Cite This Article: Sharma Manoj, Shashikant, Optimization of Connecting
Rod with Help of FEA. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and
Technology, 6(7), 2015, pp. 51-57.
http://www.iaeme.com/currentissue.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=6&IType=7
_______________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION
The connecting rod is a major link inside a combustion engine. It connects the piston
to the crankshaft and is responsible for transferring power from the piston to the
crankshaft and sending it to the transmission. There are different types of materials
and production methods used in the creation of connecting rods. The most common
types of Connecting rods are steel and aluminum. The most common types of
manufacturing processes are casting, forging and powdered metallurgy. Connecting
rods are widely used in variety of engines such as, in-line engines, V-engine, opposed
cylinder engines, radial engines and opposed-piston engines. A connecting rod
consists of a pin-end, a shank section, and a crank-end. Pin-end and crank-end

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 Sharma Manoj, Shashikant

pinholes at the upper and lower ends are machined to permit accurate fitting of
bearings.
The function of connecting rod is to transmit the thrust of the piston to the crankshaft.
Figure shows the role of connecting rod in the conversion of reciprocating motion into
rotary motion. A four-stroke engine is the most common type. The four strokes are
intake, compression, power, and exhaust. Each stroke requires approximately 180
degrees of crankshaft rotation, so the complete cycle would take 720 degrees. Each
stroke plays a very important role in the combustion process. In the intake cycle,
while the piston moves downward, one of the valves open. This creates a vacuum, and
an air-fuel mixture is sucked into the chamber (Figure 1). During the second stroke
compression occurs. In compression both valves are closed, and the piston moves
upward and thus creates a pressure on the piston, see Figure 2. The next stroke is
power. During this process the compressed air-fuel mixture is ignited with a spark,
causing a tremendous pressure as the fuel burns. The forces exerted by piston
transmitted through the connecting rod moves the crankshaft, see Figure 3. Finally,
the exhaust stroke occurs. In this stroke, the exhaust valve opens, as the piston moves
back upwards, it forces all the air out of the chamber and thus which completes the
cycle of crankshaft rotation Figure 4.

Figure 1: Intake stroke Figure 2: compression stroke

Figure 3: Power stroke Figure 4: Exhaust stroke

Connecting rods are highly dynamically loaded components used for power
transmission in combustion engines. The optimization of connecting rod had already
started as early year 1983 by Webster and his team. However, each day consumers are
looking for the best from the best. That’s why the optimization is really important
especially in automotive industry. Optimization of the component is to make the less
time to produce the product that is stronger, lighter and less cost. The design and
weight of the connecting rod influence on car performance. Hence, it is effect on the
car manufacture credibility. Change in the structural design and also material will be
significant increments in weight and performance of the engine. Mirehei et al. (2008)
were performed the study regarding the fatigue of connecting rod on universal tractor

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 Optimization of Connecting Rod with Help of FEA

(U650) by using ANSYS software application and the lifespan was estimated. The
authors also investigated that the stresses and hotspots experienced by the connecting
rod and the state of stress as well as stress concentration factors can be obtained and
consequently used for life predictions. Rahman et al. (2008a, 2009a) discuss about
FEA of the cylinder block of the free piston engine. The 4 nodes tetrahedral (TET4)
element version of the cylinder block was used for the initial analysis. The
comparison then are made between TET4 and 10 nodes tetrahedral (TET10) element
mesh while using the same global mesh length for the highest loading conditions (7.0
MPa) in the combustion chamber.

OBJETIVES
• Main objective of project is reduction in weight of connecting rod.
• Improvement in strength of connecting rod.

MATERIAL SELECTION
Comparison between Old & New Material
Table 1: Comparison between Old & New Material

S.No Properties Old Material (Al 360)1 New Material (PEEK)2

Ultimate tensile
1 303 360
strength (MPa)
2 Yield strength (MPa) 170 210

3 Youngs modulus (GPa) 60 72

4 Poisson’s ratio 0.33 0.337
5 Density (g/cm3) 2.8 1.31
Fatigue Strength
6 120 124
(endurance Limit) (Mpa)
Thermal Conductivity
7 110 87
(W/m-k)
Coefficient of Linear
8 Thermal Expansion (10- 11.6 2.6
5
in./in./°F)
According to above properties New material suggested is Polyether ether ketone
(PEEK, 30% Carbon-Fiber Reinforced)

1
A Comparative Study And Analysis of Connecting ROD By Mohd Nawajish, Mohd Naimuddin,
Mayank www.ijetmas.com March 2015, Volume 3 Special Issue, ISSN 2349-4476
2
http://www.professionalplastics.com/KETRONPEEK-CA30LSG?&search_id=2091081

MODELING OF CONNECTING ROD

First of all we taken connecting rod of a Mahindra Jeep CJ-340 and with the help of
Pro E 4.0 generate a FEM model with Reverse Engineering method.

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 Sharma Manoj, Shashikant

Figure 5: Actual Model with Scale

Table 2 Geometrical Parameters of Connecting Rod

Name of Part Value in mm
Length of connecting rod 160

Outer diameter of crank end 90

Inner diameter of crank end 55

Outer diameter of piston end 46

Inner diameter of piston end 30

Width of connecting rod 20

Depth of connecting rod 40

Figure 6: FEM Model of Connecting Rod

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 Optimization of Connecting Rod with Help of FEA

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF CONNECTING ROD

Load Distribution on Connecting Rod
For static structural analysis, load is applied at the piston end and fixed support is
given at the crank end. The analysis is carried out under axial loads. Here the axial
load applied is 28000 N (Compressive). The comparisons are done for optimization
purpose.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Static Structural Analysis of Connecting Rod
Static structural analysis of connecting rod under compressive loading is carried out
using ANSYS 11.0 software.

Figure 7: Meshing Model of Connecting Rod

FEM analysis against Compressive Load

Figure 8: Application of Compressive Force Figure 9: Deformation against Compressive Load

Figure 10: Factor of Safety against Figure 11: Von Misses stress against compressive
Load Compressive Load

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 Sharma Manoj, Shashikant

Figure 12: Von Misses strain against compressive load

Result analysis against Compressive Load

Table 3: Result against compressive load

168.6 168.3 0.18%

Von Misses Stress(Mpa)

Von Misses Strain(mm/mm) 2.209E-03 1.848E-03 16.34%

Displacement(mm) 0.1935 0.1612 16.69%

1.01 1.25 23.76%

Min. F.O.S.

Table 4: Comparison of Mass and Volume

Properties Old Material New Material
Mass (grams) 537.07 251.27
191810.60
Volume (millimeters³) 191810.60
49170.85
Surface area (millimeters²) 49170.85
X = 1868.34, Y = -0.05, X = 1868.34, Y = -0.05,
Center of mass: ( millimeters ) Z = -0.00 Z = -0.00

Ixx = 327864.55 Ixx = 153393.77

Ixy = -52670.18 Ixy = -24642.1
Ixz = -142.40 Ixz = -66.62

Moments of inertia: Iyx = -52670.18 Iyx = -24642.12

( grams * millimeters² ) Iyy= 1877037723.08 Iyy = 878185506.1
Iyz = 0.27 Iyz = 0.13

Izx = -142.40 Izx = -66.62

Izy = 0.27 Izy = 0.13
Izz = 1877308841.58 Izz = 878312350.88

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 Optimization of Connecting Rod with Help of FEA

170
169.5
169
168.5
168
167.5
Old Material New Material

Von Misses Stress Von Misses Strain

Displacement Min. F.O.S.

Figure 13: Comparison of Stress between old and new material

CONCLUSION
Solid modeling of connecting rod for four stroke four cylinders has been done using
FEA tool Pro E 4.0, and analysis has been done on ANSYS 11 workbench. On the
basis of this study following
ollowing conclusion has been made:
• Reduction in weight of connecting rod (aproxx.
( 46.7%).
• Improvement in strength of connecting rod (aproxx.
( 23.76%).

REFERENCES
[1] A Comparative Study And Analysis Of Connecting ROD By Mohd Nawajish,
Mohd Naimuddin, Mayank
Maya www.ijetmas.com March 2015, Volume 3 Special
Issue, ISSN 2349-4476
2349
[2] www.professionalplastics.com/KETRONPEEK CA30LSG?&search_id=2091081
www.professionalplastics.com/KETRONPEEK-CA30LSG?&search_id=2091081
[3] Mr. Shahrukh Shamim, “Design
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Technology (IJERT) ISSN: 2278-0181
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September 2014
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CE), Volume 10, Issue 1 (Nov. - Dec.2013), PP 47-51.
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[5] P. G. Charkha, S. B. Jaju (2009), “Analysis & Optimization of Connecting Rod”
Second International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering and
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ICETET
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Evaluation and Optimization of Connecting Rod
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2, Issue-6,
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[7] Suraj Pal, Sunil kumar; ” Design Evaluation and Optimization of Connecting Rod
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[8] P. G. Charkha, S. B. Jaju (2009) “Analysis & Optimization of Connecting Rod”
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